stage
The Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet is coming soon.
Since Empress Li was pregnant and it was inconvenient to disturb her, the ladies of state who usually had to pay their respects to Kunning Palace before the palace banquet naturally found their own places to go.
Those of higher status, such as Princess De'en, Princess Suining, and the consort of Prince Su, naturally went to the Cining Palace. Those who were related to the imperial concubines all went to their own palaces. The other ladies outside the imperial court pondered the current harem. It seemed that the Yongshou Palace was the leader, but the Yonghe Palace and Chengqian Palace were not giving in at all.
Anyway, the safest thing to do is for all the palaces to pay their respects.
Without Empress Li to entertain guests, there were many more people coming to pay their respects at the palace gates this year than in previous years.
The palace banquet was neither salty nor bland.
This year, Concubine Yi was particularly active in inviting everyone to watch the show.
The other ladies from outside the palace had already left, and the only ones left were the royal family. The royal family ladies looked around and decided to give some respect to the only imperial concubine in the palace.
Concubine Yi was mainly interested in Emperor Yongping, who agreed because of her high character. However, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager were not very interested in this. Emperor Yongping needed to escort the two ancestors back to the Cining Palace first.
Anyway, it's fine as long as you can come. At most, you can move the position of the show to a different place.
"I don't know what Concubine Yi is keeping in suspense." Concubine Ke muttered.
Sisters Yujin and Yuxi looked at Li Qingping. Li Qingping smiled at them. His calm and composed look made the sisters feel a lot more at ease.
The stage was set up next to the waterside pavilion in the Imperial Garden. The play would continue until after the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the troupe had to have sufficient personnel for rotation. Earlier, some of the concubines had sat here and watched—unable to attend the palace banquet, but unwilling to be bored in the palace, they could only watch the play to get a little festive atmosphere.
At this time, seeing the high-ranking concubines and the ladies from outside the court coming in groups of three or two, these minor concubines naturally gave up their seats to the nobles and retreated to the corners.
Li Qingping had just sat down when she saw Yuzan carefully holding her waist. She instructed the maidservants standing by, "There are many mosquitoes near the waterside pavilion. Princess Yong'an is pregnant and cannot use mugwort incense. Remove all of them and replace them with herbal mosquito repellent bags. Place more around the princess."
The palace maid hurriedly took orders and started moving.
Concubine Jing and Princess Yong'an also heard the noise here and smiled kindly at Li Qingping.
While they could have ordered the palace maids to put on mosquito repellent bags, they definitely couldn't remove the incense completely. After all, there was also Noble Consort Yi, and neither Concubine Jing nor Princess Yong'an had much respect in front of Noble Consort Yi. But Li Qingping was different. She was now a concubine and assisted in the management of the six harems. Of course, she had the power and the confidence to do so.
"Empress Ding is indeed meticulous."
Zhuangpin had just arrived and saw the palace maids busy at work. She asked a few questions and then smiled at Li Qingping, saying, "I really like the mooncakes with red bean filling this year. Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Qingping was businesslike in her attitude: "As long as Sister Zhuang likes it, that's good. I'm just following the Empress's previous list of festival gifts. If you like it, just ask the kitchen to make more."
Concubine Zhuang knew Li Qingping hadn't meant to reveal the swapped mooncakes on the gift list. After all, only the giver and receiver knew exactly what was inside. Furthermore, Zhuang's peanut allergy wasn't something she should have publicized. Otherwise, it would have given someone with ulterior motives another avenue to harm her. So, without further ado, she turned to watch the young female performer singing enthusiastically on the stage.
Concubine Yi looked on coldly, with a complicated attitude towards Yonghe Palace in her heart.
I hadn't noticed it before when she was in the Imperial Residence and a concubine, but I didn't expect Li Qingping's prowess to be revealed as soon as she became a concubine and assisted the six palaces. In the past, everyone just thought Li Qingping was just following Empress Li and Concubine Ke, but now it seems that's not the case. The person competing with Concubine Heyi was never Concubine Ke, but Concubine Ding!
When she was in the Qiandi Palace, Empress Li still had to deal with the rear courtyard, so neither Concubine Yi nor anyone else paid much attention. Now Empress Li had full authority over the harem, but Yonghe Palace was doing everything properly and thoroughly, which made everyone realize that they had underestimated Li Qingping before.
If, if it was Li Qingping who was originally named concubine, it is hard to say who the imperial concubine would be now.
Concubine Yi pursed her lips, her eyes flickering under the light of the stage.
The play on the stage was "The Drunken Concubine," a play they had seen countless times since childhood. Neither the concubines nor the ladies of state had much interest. They knew that Concubine Yi would not tell them what new twists the play had before Emperor Yongping arrived, so they just chatted in groups below.
Li Qingping had just sent someone to Kunning Palace. Seeing Yunzao return, he hurriedly asked, "How's the Empress? Is her appetite good tonight? I hope she's not bothered by the noise here?"
Yun Zao smiled and said, "Master, don't worry. The Queen had an extra half bowl of vegetable porridge and a plate of emerald mushrooms tonight. This place is far from Kunning Palace, so we can't hear any noise." She then whispered in Li Qingping's ear, "Also, the Queen just told me to have the kitchen serve a bowl of lotus seed and lily soup here. Sister Huixin from Kunning Palace is waiting outside. But when this sweet soup will be served depends entirely on Master's orders."
Li Qingping nodded to show that he understood: "That's good. You will wait for my signal later."
Yun Zao bowed, but before he could stand up, he saw the bright yellow ceremonial procession approaching in the distance, and knelt down again. It was Emperor Yongping who had arrived.
Concubine Yi's face lit up with joy. She winked at the young eunuch beside her, then led everyone to greet them.
"Your Majesty, I have ordered the Imperial Music Bureau to stage a new play, and I have put a lot of thought into it. It is only now waiting for your arrival to begin."
Emperor Yongping raised an eyebrow, showing considerable interest. After all, it had been the same old drama over the years, and he had long since grown tired of it. So, he helped Concubine Yi to her feet and said with a smile, "My dear, you're so thoughtful. Tell them to get started quickly."
Everyone took their seats again. The clamor of gongs, drums, and stringed instruments on the stage changed its tune. Twelve graceful dancers in moon-white costumes floated onto the stage like clouds, each holding an exquisitely crafted glass lantern. The light shone through the glass onto the stage and costumes, like moonlight pouring down.
"This is..." Emperor Yongping raised his eyebrows and noticed that although there was opera singing, the dancer on the stage did not speak.
Concubine Yi smiled and said, "Operas used to be so dry, so I thought of incorporating singing and dancing into them. These twelve maids will dress up as jade rabbits dancing with glass lanterns, while the young female actors will sing in the background, acting as narrators. This way, with both singing and dancing, it's lively yet elegant. Your Majesty, don't you think it's better than ordinary operas?"
Emperor Yongping seemed quite interested: "Interesting."
After hearing what the emperor said, some concubines and ladies of the royal family also praised Concubine Yi's ingenuity.
The seating order on the stage was naturally based on rank. Even if the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and Empress Li were not present, a seat would be left vacant as a sign of respect, and then the seats would be arranged according to rank. At this moment, Concubine Yi had moved forward to speak with Emperor Yongping, sitting a distance away from the concubines.
While the singing was going on, Concubine Ke took advantage of the situation and whispered to Li Qingping, "That wasn't her idea at all, it was clearly the brainchild of the Imperial Music Bureau. But that manager is certainly capable; no wonder he's been able to maintain his position at the Imperial Music Bureau for so many years. The dancers move with such lithe figures, their movements so graceful and elegant, and the young female actors sing so melodiously. It's definitely a new idea, and the Emperor definitely thinks it's a good one."
Li Qingping smiled but said nothing, and nodded his chin towards Yunzao.
Yunzao understood, and quietly walked out, then quietly came back in. At this moment, everyone was busy watching the show or complimenting Concubine Yi, so no one noticed her.
Emperor Yongping was watching with great joy, and Concubine Yi was being affectionate and considerate beside him, feeling that he had finally had a chance to hold his head high tonight.
Unexpectedly, Liang Pei'an whispered a few words in the emperor's ear, and Emperor Yongping laughed even more happily, and said with some emotion: "The queen is thoughtful, let them come in."
Everyone saw Empress Li's capable attendant, Aunt Huixin, leading dozens of palace maids into the room. After bowing to the masters, Huixin smiled and said, "The Empress heard about the excitement here, but unfortunately, she's not feeling well and can't celebrate with you all. I've come to express my apologies. The Empress also said it was cold tonight, so she asked the kitchen to prepare a lotus seed and lily soup for the masters to warm them up."
Huixin personally brought a bowl to Emperor Yongping and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Empress specifically instructed me that the lotus seeds in this bowl must have been peeled by the Empress herself."
Emperor Yongping quickly finished the sweet soup, feeling warm inside. "The Empress's love for me remains the same as always. It's just that the Empress is not feeling well right now, so why would she do this?"
Everyone around was laughing and responding to the emperor and empress's affectionate words, and for a moment, they stopped watching the show. Emperor Yongping looked at the bright moon in the sky and suddenly sighed, "I've been negligent. This is a great day, and the empress loves a lot of fun..." He even had the intention of getting up and heading to Kunning Palace.
No one can stop the emperor from leaving.
Concubine Yi watched helplessly as Emperor Yongping left, unable to stop him. The lotus seed and lily soup the maid brought to her was blindingly bright, and her heart felt as if a huge stone had blocked it.
She put so much effort into staging such a play but it turned out to be a joke, which was not as clever as the bowl of soup that Queen Li ordered casually.
No one cares how the play above is performed.
Li Qingping hadn't expected Emperor Yongping to just get up and leave. She'd expected him to overshadow Concubine Yi. But once Emperor Yongping left… Li Qingping glanced at Concubine Yi's embarrassed expression. It was like a slap in the face.
But this was indeed the food sent by Empress Li, and I'm afraid Concubine Yi is secretly holding a grudge against Empress Li in her heart.
Li Qingping's expression became solemn when he thought of this.
Hui Xin, who hadn't left yet, had obviously thought of this as well. She brought a bowl of lotus seed and lily soup to Li Qingping and whispered, "Don't worry, Concubine Ding. The master had already considered this possibility when he asked me to come here. The master's many years of managing the household affairs are far more powerful than Concubine Yi's. Even if Concubine Yi had all-powerful means, she couldn't reach into Kunning Palace. The important thing is that this sweet soup is indeed useful now."
Li Qingping sighed.
Although Empress Li's move was ingenious, it did seem to be pushing Concubine Yi into a corner.
Concubine Yi drank the bowl of lotus seed and lily soup in one gulp with a stiff face - if she didn't drink it, people would accuse her of being disrespectful to the Empress. Then she slammed the bowl on the table and walked away, waving her sleeves.
When the dancers on the stage saw that Concubine Yi had left, they didn't know whether they should continue dancing or performing the play.
Everyone present did not want to bring bad luck to Concubine Yi, so they could only sigh and watch the unfinished game unfold.
In the end, Li Qingping smiled again and told everyone to disperse, as naturally as if nothing unexpected had happened on the stage just now.
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